General Gear Question

I personally have no experiences with the TSL100 but I would be surprised if there's no
option of getting a warm rich sound. Try to push the poweramp and keep the gain down.
Also a middy booster or overdrive like the good ol' tubescreamer. That should work.

If you are interested in the Twinkleland then just drop Peter an email.
He is very nice and helpful. info@vanweelden.com

Alex

You should have no problems dialing in a good Joe Bonamassa or Billy Gibbons tone on your TSL.  I use a DSL100 and get there in spades.  I have amps that cover the Fender, Vox, Marshall, and Dumble territory very well.  IMO you have the right amp for the tones you are describing.  Joe uses the JCM2000 series amps for quick fly in gigs or when using his larger rig is impractical.  Joe usually uses the clean channel with the gain boost on and a TS808RI to boost the gain and mids even more.  Deep switch off and mid shift off as well.  Keep the presense and treble low while accentuating the lows and mids.  I usually run my mids on about 3 o'clock or full up.  Same for the bass.  Alex is also right about getting some power tube breakup for a more accurate tone but those amps are LOUD.  Unless you are playing stadiums or huge clubs forget about it.  Some other amps that I've gotten some good Gibbons/Bonamassa tones on are a Metro JTM45, Dr. Z Maz Jr. (believe it or not), Fender Super Reverb (with the right pedals), vintage Blackface Bassman head cranked to the high heavens (got it for $300 a couple of years ago) and my Dailey C-Series head (like a 50w plexi/JCM800 amp with a little bit of refinement to the notes like my Dumble clone).  Any good clean amp would work with the right pedals.  You can't go wrong with a Fulltone Fulldrive II, OCD, or Catalyst in my opinion.  Tubescreamers always work well.  The Boss Blues Driver (especially w/ Keeley mod) works very nice for a grittier Gibbons tone.  People swear by the Fuchs Plush and Creme pedals for JB tones and I hear that the Ocean FX Pearl Drive is very nice for that as well.  Keep in mind that the gear is only part of the equation as I know Joe or Billy could play a show with your guitar and amp no problem.  Good luck and have fun tone chasing!

I do have one more question for you.  What do you think of the clones from Ceria Tone Amplification?

Wow!  Thanks so much for the info!  That exactly what I was looking for in regards to clones.  I'm not by any means an amp collector ar anything, I just want to have all the tones at my disposal.  Thanks again!  Bryan

Ben, there are definately differences between a stock Ceriatone HRM and your Fuchs.  First thing your Fuchs is a non-HRM circuit that lends itself for a more fluid "Robben Ford and the Blue Line" tone if you will.  The HRM is a little brighter, harder, stiffer, and unforgiving.  The HRM circuit is a little bit more like what Robben and Carlton are using now.  Different strokes for different folks.  Price aside I'd probably like a Fuchs or Two-Rock and will probably own one or both someday.  I'd like to get my hands on a Two-Rock Emmy Pro, Kustom, Prototype or CRS someday.  The Fuchs TDS is one of the amps on my dreamlist.  The big advantages for the Fuchs/Two-Rock amps over the stock Ceriatones are the built on reverb (which is about the best you can get), the super heavy duty transformers/parts, and local service to get your amps modded/repaired etc.  I have heard some clips of some modded Ceriatones that easily give a Fuchs, Two Rock, Quinn, Bludotone, or any other Dumble ODS style amp a run for it's money though.  Ben, count yourself lucky that you are fortunate enough to own the gear that you do.  99% of the guitarists out there will go their whole lives never owning that kind of gear.  I know guys who have been playing for 30 years + and have never owned even a Gibson Les Paul, not to mention a Fuchs, Two-Rock, Top Hat, Mesa, Marshall, etc etc etc to play it through.

PS Ben I just picked up an old '68 Super Reverb man...you want to talk about blues tone.  If you are looking for one combo to take to a gig that you don't want to/have to drop a lot of money on I would check one out.  With the right pedals it can do anything from Robben Ford, Derek Trucks, SRV, Joe Bonamassa, Hendrix, EJ, etc.  Circuitwise it's about 95% the same as a Blackface Super Reverb too.  $800!  It's my new favorite amp.

It's funny that you mention the "break in" period on those amps.  I was very shocked and disappointed when I first tried my HRM100 out.  I was about ready to throw it out a window when I first got it!  So I take it to a local guitar store for a buddy of mine to check out and we crank that baby up almost full up...WOW!  Loud but still I was wondering where all those classic Dumble tones that I've heard are.  It was very bright and almost Van Halen Marshall Plexi sounding.  Well that half hour of blasting really burned that amp in!  It keeps getting warmer and more toneful everytime I plug into it.  Now I can easily ape the JB, Carlton, Ford, Santana, etc tones out of it.  I'm thinking about getting some NOS preamp glass for it and a Fuchs Verbrator for the loop.  Also, when you blend amps like I usually do the "stand alone" tone matters less and less.  If you play a big dollar D-clone next to my HRM there's a good chance my amp will not sound as good.  But you take that amp and blend it with another and those differences become a lot smaller.  The most important thing is how you play with the EQs and how the amps FEEL.  I'd wager that, especially when blending amps, you could fool a lot of people with blind clips.  I think that's a little bit of the reason why Joe can change amps out like underwear yet still get the same tones happening every night.  There IS that other thing called his hands but I won't even go there...

YEP I know it sounds weird Ben but this is a fact IMO when I first plugged in after building the amp
       it sounded totally different as to how it sounds now OK I dont kow why exactly but I am also
       an electrical engineer . so something needed to burn in as the valves were old ones. also my
       brother built one to exact dumble specifications from the ampgarage forum. he too said the
       amp did not sound great straight off. maybe its just your ears getting used to the sound
       of the amp ??  , also my ceriatone sounds very like my brothers ! Pound for pound IMO the
       Ceriatone has brought Dumble like tones to those who dont have big bucks to spend on gear
       I could afford 2rock and fuchs but cant justify this money when I have 2 kids and a mortage
        it would be totally selfish of me to spend that kinda cash.

      I,m Stoked you got yourself a jubilee at a good price (hope its not an early serial No)
      some pics would be great even better A sound clip its way too long since you posted
      anything
                                         DEREK

"Everybody's entitled to my opinion.